What We Thought We Knew
by Mrs Ann
Summary: An unexpected event brings Ichigo hurling nearly one thousand years into the past. Sadly, it isn't until after he's found by Yamamoto and taken in as a prospective successor that he even realizes it. Years of struggle awaits our young hero as he works to find a way home. But for some, his appearance couldn't have come at a better time. Takes place at the Shino Academy.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! Welcome to the first chapter of What We Thought We Knew. Please note that this is NOT a romantic fic, and there will _not_ be any pairings other than those expressed in the actual anime/manga.**

_Chapter 1_

0x0

A rare smile graced his lips as they walked down the brightly lit streets of Rukongai. Rukia was in a purple Kimono littered with pale snowflake designs, Inoue wore a soft pink yukata with blue petal and blossoms dancing across it with a white shawl, Renji wore a red kosode un-tucked from white hakama with a black shawl with a brown fur lining along with a black bandana to cover his tattoos and keep his head warm; as for himself, he wore a black yukata with a light grey sash and matching shawl decorated with cherry blossoms and snakes that Byakuya had lent him when he was spontaneously invited to the festival by Rukia.

Even more shockingly, the stoic aristocrat had allowed Inoue to borrow his late wife's yukata, claiming that is would be better appreciated on the form of a young woman than lying folded in an unused room. He would have to thank Byakuya later for it. He hadn't seen an honest smile from Inoue in a while, and it was good for her to take a break from the chaos in Karakura.

"Oi, Strawberry." And the smile was gone. Just like that, happy moment ruined.

He wouldn't answer to that name again.

Nope.

Not gonna happen.

"What do ya want, Pineapple." So much for that idea, at least now he wasn't the only one with an annoyed tick on his brow.

Renji remained annoyed for all of three seconds before his shoulders relaxed and he gazed up at the sky with an odd expression. Odd for Renji that is, it would be completely normal for say, Ukitake. It made him look like an old geezer, really. He himself relaxed unconsciously, it was a routine by now. Renji would insult him, he'd insult him back, they'd be angry, and then like two bipolar chicks, would go from pissed to content in seconds.

It was almost comical really.

"You ever try Pong Bashing?" He asked him. Ichigo paused for a moment.

"Pong Bashing?" He asked incredulously with a raised brow. What did that even _mean_?

Renji smirked.

"It's-" He was cut off by an elbow to the gut courtesy of Rukia.

"A stupid game he came up with with some of our friends in the 78th district." She said with finality as Renji glared up at her while he tried to catch his breath, hands on knees.

"Oka~ay." He said, unsure how to react to Rukia's avoidance of the 'game'. He chose to ignore it, and Renji's mumbled cursing for the remaining time it took them to reach their destination.

As soon as they got there the girls quickly rushed over to a fish scooping game hosted by a large elderly man while he and Renji stood back and watched them.

"So," he said conversationally to his red haired friend, "what's Pong Bashing?" A grin that could rival no _beat_ the Cheshire cat spread across Renji's face.

'_I should have just ignored it.'_ He thought with a bead of sweat trickling from his brow.

0x0

Ichigo and Renji hid behind a few barrels as people fled down the street in hysteria past them. Indiscreetly Ichigo glared at Renji as they squatted behind the barrels.

"_This was your grand idea?"_ He said just above a whisper, his voice comically cracking in places.

A small bead of sweat travelled down Renji's cheek. Until he quickly turned the tables on to Ichigo.

"_You weren't supposed to put _that much _reiryoku into it!" _He said vehemently to his younger friend. Ichigo huffed in response.

"_You know I have terrible control. Everyone does!"_ Ichigo said, acid practically dripping from his tongue.

Renji looked bashful for a moment.

"_I didn't think you were _that_ bad."_ He said, looking in-between the cracks of the barrels as a blush covered Ichigo's cheeks.

"_I-I'm not, it's just that I have trouble with little things-" _He paused when he noticed his friends ashen appearance. Then looked to where he was staring at the enraged face of Rukia.

'_Oh.' _Ichigo thought blandly, color seeping from his face to make an odd pale peach that would look unhealthy on _Ukitake_.

"Y-" Rukia's fists shook with anger. "**You idiots!**" She said as she violently grabbed them both from their hiding places as people ran past them in a frenzy.

They both held their hands up in mock surrender in hopes that the enraged midget would be merciful as Inoue stood in the back quietly pleading with Rukia.

_**BOOM**_

As luck would have it, they didn't have to hope, or pray, for mercy thanks to Seireitei's alarm system.

All four of them looked towards Seireitei in worry. It wasn't often that the alarm went off, and it usually meant one of 12th divisions experiments had gotten loose, Kenpachi was drunk, or some idiot was trying to invade Soul Society. Again.

Upon the horizon, the telltale signs of garganta littered the sky, and with it, shocked gasps from the female populous in their four man group.

Renji's eyes bugged out of his head, and his jaw clenched tightly in time with his body.

"Not possible." He breathed out, red hair blowing as a hollow landed behind them with a _'thud'_.

They all turned around, Ichigo and Renji reaching for zanpakutō that weren't present.

A bell like sound unique to Inoue's powers sounded with a low mutter of 'Tsubaki' just moments before the hollow was purified. Ichigo nodded to Inoue in thanks as they all relaxed.

"We need to get our zanpakutō." Rukia said as she started heading toward the Kuchiki manor. Ichigo nodded towards Renji and grabbed Inoue around the waist, going into a fast shunpo as Renji mimicked his movements with Rukia.

"Oi!" Rukia yelled as Renji hefted her onto his shoulder. Inoue hung surprisingly silent as a small blush, unseen by Ichigo, rose to her cheeks.

"We need to stick together and get this done as fast as possible." Ichigo said while Renji nodded in agreement with him.

"You didn't have to-!" Rukia began, only to be cut off by Ichigo.

"When was the last time we _had_ time?" he asked her over his shoulder. Renji rolled his eyes at him.

"It's not like Aizen's starting another war, ya idiot." Renji said mockingly, almost dropping Rukia in the process.

"Hey, watch it!" Rukia yelled from his shoulder, smacking Renji atop the head. Renji grumbled but otherwise remained silent as they passed through the Kuchiki gates and hastened into the room they had left their zanpakutō.

"What do you think it could be?" Inoue asked once she was set down. Ichigo shrugged his shoulders.

"Beats me, it'll probably be sorted out by the time we get there. Jii-san's been pretty thorough since Aizen." Ichigo said as he strapped Zangetsu onto his back. Renji nodded from beside him as he got Zabimaru in its proper place.

"It's gotten even tighter since the hell fiasco." Renji said.

"Oi!" Ichigo said as he opened the door to go out. Renji shrugged.

"It's true. You're lucky the Captain Commander likes you." Renji said as he jumped onto the roof of a near-by building.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked as he followed him.

"Aren't you supposed to get the girls?" Renji asked as he pointed to the vacant spot where Rukia and Inoue were moments ago. Ichigo raised his brow as he pointed to the girls heading towards the center of Seireitei.

"You were saying?" Ichigo asked smugly. "Why are you going back to the festival anyway?" He asked; brows furrowed in confusion. Renji faltered a bit.

"Sh-shut up." Renji said as he began to shunpo after the girls.

"Idiot." Ichigo said as he watched him go with a fond smile. Another rumble shook the ground, and without a moment's thought he took off towards the center of the mayhem in a quick shunpo, face hardened with resolve.

0x0

Ichigo paused as he made it to the center of the chaos. Rukia and Renji had to go attend to some division stuff and Inoue had been asked to help Unohana-taicho to take care of the wounded.

Yamamoto stood beside Ukitake, Kyōraku, and Isshin of all people. Nameless shinigami ran to and fro as Ichigo approached the congregation.

"Dad? What's going on?" He asked, a worried frown marring his face.

Isshin turned to him in all seriousness, and instantly Ichigo felt his gut clench tightly. The last time his father was this serious was when he taught him the final getsuga tenshō. Ukitake put a hand on his father's shoulder and shook his head.

"Elsewhere, Isshin." Ukitake said soothingly, and his father nodded in agreement. It didn't help to alleviate the youth's anxiety though.

His attention was taken away from his father as Yamamoto approached him. But something went wrong. Before any of them could blink, a yellow beam encompassed him, taking them all off guard.

"Ichigo!" Isshin yelled, but Kyōraku held him back this time. Yamamoto opened his eyes and glared at a spot behind Ichigo.

Ichigo turned around in the negación, and froze in horror at what he saw.

Standing there in his own solitary beam, with a triumphant smile was Aizen Sōsuke holding the Hōgyoku. He looked back at his father pleadingly, hoping against reason he was knocked out by Renji's crazy game and having a nightmare. His father looked right back at him and smiled. But it didn't reach his eyes.

"You'll do fine Ichigo." But they both knew better, he was still recovering from having his powers returned. At best he would be able to cut Aizen down, but he wouldn't have the strength needed to resist the Hōgyoku for another two weeks.

0x0

**A/N: I'll have the next chapter up shortly. Tell me what you all think, and if anyone's interested in doing beta work for me, I'd be ecstatic. ^^**

**Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight. **


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

0x0

Ichigo stumbled a bit when the negación lifted up the land beneath his feet, and he could feel anxiety grip him as he began ascending into the air. He never once looked away from his father as he hardened his resolve and gripped Zangetsu tightly, briefly sending a bit a reiatsu into the blade for reassurance. The gentle hum of Zangetsu's energy helped to calm his nerves and harden his resolve.

He would succeed, and be home in time to make those strawberry crepes with Yuzu.

He nodded to his father, and his father nodded back. They both knew what they needed to do.

_'Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate.'_ Ichigo recited in his head. Zangetsu hummed once more, bringing new strength to his wielder. He wouldn't fail, he couldn't afford to.

His trip through the negación was shorter than he anticipated. However, the destination was also different than he anticipated. The gillian had stopped the negación short, leaving Aizen and Ichigo along in the middle of the garganta. Ichigo watched as the side opening to Soul Society closed, breaking the eye contact he had with his father.

"Tell me boy. What do you know of the King's key." Aizen asked as he walked towards Ichigo, admiring the orb he held in his hand.

Ichigo took a step back, and readied Zangetsu for bankai, the black wrapping around the new hilt surprisingly coming un-done to wrap around his arm.

But before he had the chance, Aizen appeared before him, and thrust the Hōgyoku into his chest. His eyes widened comically as he stared in shock at the mad man.

"Wha-" He asked as the Hōgyoku began to take effect. Aizen's eyes narrowed at him.

"Tell me, Ichigo. How valuable do you think your soul is after absorbing the power of every captain-class shinigami and visored?" Ichigo's eyes widened at Aizen's question as a beam encompassed him and began to slowly expand outward.

Aizen's eyes narrowed as he smiled at the boy cruelly. His hair ragged and his white clothes billowing with the force of the Hōgyoku's power.

"B-bastard!" Ichigo yelled as the beam extended all around him, forcing him to his knees. He looked up and saw the crescent moon of Hueco Mundo.

**_"What do you desire most?"_** Ichigo's eyes widened further as he heard the soft voice echo all around him. He vaguely processed Aizen's mad laughter in the distance.

"The king's key!" Aizen yelled in the distance. But Ichigo couldn't hear it, and he was much more concentrated on another, more familiar voice to pay it any heed.

_"To protect him."_ Ichigo's eyes widened further as he recognized the voice.

_'Zangetsu'_ He thought silently to himself.

**_"As you wish."_** The voice said, almost a whisper. His eyes fluttered closed as he felt the world around him _move_ in an unnatural way, Aizen's enraged screaming only adding to the effect it had on him. This whole situation was _unnatural_.

0x0

The sound of chirping birds awoke him, and he vaguely wondered when he had fallen asleep. He cracked an eye open, and immediately closed it when the sun decided to play 'peek a boo'. Groaning, he rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up.

He took the time to get his bearings as he stood, one eye cracked open as he rubbed the other with his pointer and middle fingers, trying to make the headache threatening to crack his skull in two subside. He stumbled to the side slightly when a wave of vertigo hit him, and promptly found the trunk of a tree. Gratefully, he plopped down under the tree and closed his eyes again, opting to wait out the headache.

"Agh." He mumbled, rubbing his temples. Steps in the distance alerted him to the presence of people walking towards his tree. But he paid them little mind.

_'What did Aizen do to me? Heck, didn't it even happen? Augh, I probably just have a hangover. People hallucinate when they're drunk.'_ Cracking an eye open, he noticed a long, familiar beard.

"Jii-san?" He mumbled softly, still not feeling well. Yamamoto bent down and took hold of his chin, examining his face, and mumbling incoherently. Several men stood behind the old man, but his head hurt too much for him to give them any thought.

"Sir?" The voice sounded distant, and distorted. Like a memory. Ichigo closed his eyes at the noise. Despite it being soft, it felt sharp against his senses.

"Get Captain Unohana for me." The distinctly ancient voice of Yamamoto said, though like the other the old man's voice was faded and distorted. His brows furrowed in discomfort at the noise, and he instinctually tried to move away from it. In response, Yamamoto released his chin, and allowed him to rest his head against the bark of the tree.

"Yes sir." It sounded jumbled together and he could barely make out what was said. What felt like hours passed by, but he could tell it had only been a few minutes. He felt a large body sit down next to him, and something was draped over his shoulders. It was then he realized he was shivering. Another pair of footsteps sounded, and this time the sound was crystal clear, and deafeningly loud.

He could _feel_ every crunch in the grass, and wondered briefly why the grass was crunchy. A hand brushed over his forehead and he opened an eye in response. The smiling face of Unohana Retsu met him, but it seemed _off_, and briefly he wondered if he was under Aizen's hypnosis. Just as quickly he brushed it off as getting a fever from being drunk and falling asleep outside.

Why else would he be outside with a headache, while Yamamoto looked for him?

In all honesty it didn't really answer why Yamamoto was there, maybe the old man was bored. Speaking of old men.

"Where's dad?" He asked, his voice coming out coarse, and his eye closing.

Unohana looked at him with concern, though he couldn't see it. She looked towards Yamamoto, and nodded when he waved in a 'go with it' sort of way. In her experience it was always better to play along with patients who were hallucinating, it made it easier to get them to bed and happily drugged.

"He's waiting for you." She said kindly, only feeling slightly guilty for her dishonesty.

"We're going to take you to the fourth division and make sure you're alright." She said as she motioned for one of her squad members to bring around a gurney for the young lad.

He nodded deliriously, and grit his teeth together when he felt himself moved onto the gurney. The _thing_, whatever it was, stayed on him though, which he was thankful for. The added warmth it gave lessened the pain in his cramped muscles, if minutely.

He had no sense of time, but he did manage to make out the feeling of a slight prick on his arm. He was left in a dreamless sleep after that.

0x0

Yamamoto sat patiently at his desk sipping tea, awaiting the awakening of an odd young man in the fourth division.

That morning, just as the sun broke the horizon, a terrible reiatsu had flooded the Seireitei and sent many to their knees. As he had looked upon the sky, the Dangai was visible, along with the cleaner as it came seconds away from entering the Gotei. Along with it, the body of a young man came crashing down into his personal garden in the first division.

The last time such an event had ever occurred; a young Shinigami had been found dead, a result of being caught by the cleaner and driven to a different time. It was one of the reasons there were so many precautions taken in regards to the Dangai. However, there had never been such a powerful reiatsu or large mass of reiryoku to have ever been in similar contact with the Dangai. Mainly in part to the fact that only he himself, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, had ever possessed such an impressive amount of reiryoku before.

He was saddened to think that such a strong individual would fall to such a fate, and already he was preparing to do a formal investigation on the matter. As he entered his garden however, he was pleasantly surprised to see a young man, breathing and moving under the large magnolia tree he planted ages ago.

However, the moment the young man proclaimed him 'jii-san', he made it his duty to personally see to the investigation. He would not take the attempted murder of a possible relative lightly. This opinion was further strengthened when the boy asked for his father. He felt a rage unlike any other pass through him at the possibility of anyone attempting to take the life of a youth from his own house.

He would be sure to have Unohana do a formal interrogation of the young man upon his awakening. He would need a good excuse to ease any suspicion from the young man. Perhaps testing the possibility for amnesia would work?

" Captain Commander Yamamoto-sama!" Chōjirō Sasakibe declared as he bent in stanza at the door.

"Lieutenant Sasakibe." He said with a slight nod of his head.

"Captain Unohana sent me to tell you that the boy is awake, sir!" Chōjirō said as he kept his fist on the ground. Yamamoto's eyes opened at the news.

"Hmm, I suppose a visitation is in order then." He said humorlessly as he stood from his chair and headed towards the doorway.

"Yes sir!" Chōjirō said as he stood to accommodate his captain, and followed him out into the hall at a slow and sedate pace.

0x0

"Nn." He mumbled as his brows scrunched together in discomfort. He had been enjoying a dreamless sleep until an obnoxious beeping woke him. Cracking an eye open, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the room was _not_ too bright to look around comfortably, and took the liberty of opening both his eyes.

The room was a calming light blue, with a large window that was open, but covered by thin white curtains that only allowed a bit of light through them. A bed, two chairs, and a small bedside table were the only things that occupied the rooms' space, if you excluded the current patient, and the heart monitor mounted to the wall. It was a bit irritating.

Standing, he ruffled his hair and removed the various cords that hooked him up the machine off so he could walk over to the window. He pulled the curtain gently aside and was met with an empty garden he had seen on countless visits to the fourth division. Though is looked like they had switched some of the plants out. He closed the curtain and sat down on the bed, trying to remember what had gotten him into the fourth division in the first place.

Oh, right.

Renji's _game_.

_'Insane bastard.'_ He thought fondly.

Just then the door to his room opened and a ruffled looking fourth division member stood panting as he adjusted his glasses to compose himself.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to remain in bed and not tamper with any of the equipment." The odd guy said breathlessly.

"Oh, right. Ichigo's fine." He said bluntly as he lay back in the bed. The man raised a brow at him, and he immediately glowered.

"And it doesn't mean strawberry!" He said angrily, crossing his arms over his chest.

The odd guy cleared his throat awkwardly, doing nothing the help the situation.

"Ahem, of course not, Mr. Ichigo." If that didn't sound wrong, then his name wasn't Ichigo.

"Kurosaki." Ichigo said roughly.

"Sir?" The odd guy asked.

"If you're going to be weird about it, call me Mr. Kurosaki. Mr. Ichigo sounds wrong." He said as he stared at the odd guy. He reminded him of Aizen before he defected.

Speaking of Aizen, his eyes widened minutely as images of what could only be described as a bad dream gone wrong flashed through his mind. It couldn't be, could it? He probably got his by one of those . . . . things from Renji's game. Right, 'cause there was no way Aizen got out, was there? He shook his head, dispelling the disturbing thoughts, and was brought out of his musings as Unohana appeared in the doorway next to the odd Aizen-look-alike who seemed to be a bit more on edge than he was previously.

Then again, he was ignoring him.

"-r. Kurosaki?" Unohana said with minimal concern as she stepped into the room.

"Hum?" He asked unintelligently. Unohana's shoulders seemed to relax, though it wasn't easy to tell.

"I'm going to need to conduct a short questionnaire with you Kurosaki-san." She said in her usual motherly tone. He nodded in response, and vaguely noted that the odd guy was gone.

"Sure." He said with a nonchalant shrug.

**A/N:**

**Just to clear some things up. **

**If you pay close attention to the Anime/Manga Aizen was never killed, there's a nice little cut scene where he's bound in black material to a chair in front of a group of elders (presumably the new central 46) and sentenced to twenty thousand years in the Maggots Nest as a result of his being immortal as a side effect of the Hogyoku. **

**Aizen being dead is a misconception developed in various fiction. **

**Also, I'll be keeping the 'Pong-Bashing cut scene for latter when I find myself in a pickle and can't think up what to write for the next chapter. **

**I might post it before that if I get a lot of requests for it, but it's unlikely. **

**I will give you all a hint though . . . . it involves goldfish and fermented eggs. **

**O.o Feel free to try and figure it out XD**

**Also, tell me if I've made any mistakes, and I'll get right on it. Thanks for all of your support. ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

0x0

Unohana took a seat in one of the small plush chairs in the room and sorted through a small pile of paperwork in her hands. She cleared her throat and brought a kanji brush out once she found the paper she was looking for.

"Name?" She asked him calmly, and he couldn't help but raise a brow skeptically.

"Really?" He asked, not missing the humor. Unohana smiled at him apologetically.

"It's all part of the procedure. You hit your head quite . . . impressively." She said with a small chuckle.

He brought a hand to the back of his neck in slight embarrassment.

"Yeah . . . Right, Ichigo Kurosaki." He said, a slight blush coming to his cheeks. She chuckled and wrote it down.

"Date of birth?" She asked him lightly.

"July fifteenth, nineteen ninety five." He said smoothly. She hummed as she wrote it down, and he recognized it as a technique his father would use to avoid awkward silences when he dealt with his younger patients.

"Residence?" She asked him, not looking up from her paper.

"Kurosaki Clinic." He replied, his embarrassment forgotten as he answered questions he'd only seen his dad ask once with a guy who had a head injury from a motorcycle crash. It was a bloody mess.

"~?" She asked him. He blushed anew when he realized he hadn't heard her.

"Sorry, wasn't paying attention." He said as his hand reunited with its best friend, neck. She looked up at him with amusement.

"Division?" She asked lightly. He quirked his head slightly and chuckled.

"None." He said with slight amusement. If he didn't live in a clinic, he'd probably be annoyed. Unohana laughed with him, though it was more like she was laughing at one of Kenpachi's jokes, than how she usually laughed. He only knew because he had been invited to a party at the fourth division by Hanatarō once.

"Occupation?" She asked instead, discreetly crossing out 'division' and writing 'occupation' above it. He paused, and took a breath.

"High school student, employee of Unagiya, and Substitute Soul Reaper." He said blandly, counting them off on his fingers as he looked up as though the ceiling held the answers to the universe.

Unohana faltered for a moment, but quickly corrected herself as she hurriedly scribbled his answer down.

"Age?" She asked once she was done, brush smoking slightly, though he couldn't begin to figure out how, since the ink was wet . . .

"Seventeen." He said smoothly, and a tick formed when he heard her mutter 'still a baby' quietly to herself. If she were anyone _other_ than Unohana, he'd have yelled at her. Alas, she terrified him, so she could call him whatever she wanted.

"Names and ages of the people currently in your family, deceased or other. Along with their relation to you." She said when she finished.

"Ah. My dad, Isshin Kurosaki, I don't know how old he is." He said as he thought back. She nodded as she wrote it down. "My two sisters, Yuzu and Karin, they're twins, both thirteen." He said, unconsciously bringing his fingers up again. "And my mom, she died when I was nine, I'm not sure how old she was." He said thoughtfully.

It took a little longer than the other times, but Unohana finished faster than he could have.

"That must have been hard on you." She said softly. He nodded in agreement.

"It was, but we managed." He said as he looked out the window. Unohana looked at him in understanding as she flipped over to the next page, too happy that her questionnaire was working so well, but equally worried by some of the young man's answers. It didn't seem possible to reiatsu as high as he did with his stated age, but it was too outlandish, and he seemed to obliviously innocent to be lying, which left her in quite the predicament.

"Any friends or family in the Rukongai that Seireitei should know about?" She asked lightly.

Ichigo shifted slightly.

"Not that I know of." It was more asked than stated as his eyebrows came together, and she immediately noted her mistake.

He was a _substitute _shinigami, a title that had significance, but a significance she could comprehend. Along with his age, and the term 'clinic', which sounded as though it was related to 'clinical study', and his stated 'date', left her with little to go on. There was only one other place that a being with shinigami powers could come from, and 'substitute' didn't leave much to the imagination.

The pause seemed stagnant, and he shifted slightly in discomfort, wondering if he _had_ hit his head hard enough to cause memory loss. There just seemed to be something he was missing.

"Ah, forgive me Kurosaki-san, this is a generic questionnaire. Hmmm, any friends or family with high spiritual power in the living world?" She asked, masking her mistake with a practiced professionalism she had taken centuries to perfect.

Ichigo's eyes danced in amusement as he answered the, to him, redundant question, happy to have something he knew he could answer confidently.

"Yeah, Inoue, Chad, Uryū, My sister Karin, Inoue said something about Tatsuki once, and Keigo gives me the chills occasionally, but that could be because he's creepy . . ." He stopped as he pondered the odd sensations he had been getting from Keigo, and thought back to how he, Tatsuki, and Mizuiro had all been there at the final battle.

"Mizuiro too, maybe." His brows came together as he frowned thoughtfully, causing Unohana to chuckle slightly. He looked up, his frown changing to one of confusion while she looked at him with mirth dancing in her eyes.

"Eh? What's up?" He said blandly.

"It's alright if you're unsure Kurosaki-kun." She laughed a bit. It was difficult not to, the boy had a sort of innocent charm about him that reminded her of some of her younger patients. Though his last answer brought more questions than answers, and she was more than a little miffed at his familiarity, though the circumstances of his appearance were not lost on her. The precipice was a conundrum, and it was best to get answers as quickly as possible from those directly affected by it.

He blushed slightly and brought his arms to his chest as he looked out the window. A natural form of defense, she noted.

"Perhaps that's enough for today Captain Unohana." An aged voice said from the doorway. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Jii-san." He said quietly. The old man had never visited him before, and something seemed . . . off . . . about him. It was then he realized.

"What happened to you beard?" He asked bluntly, pointing to the obviously shorter body of plaited hair handing from the man's face.

Yamamoto raised a brow at the obvious disrespect, and motioned for Unohana to hand him the papers. His eyes squinted open as he read the information with a calm gained only form years of experience as the captain commander of the Gotei 13. He brought an aged hand to his beard and chuckled.

"What indeed." He said illusively as he took a seat in the vacant chair next to the young man, Sasakibe standing outside the door as though he didn't know what to do with himself.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the man in obvious irritation.

'_Cryptic old man.'_ He thought with mild irritation.

"Hmmm, if you would leave us, Captain Unohana, Lieutenant Sasakibe." He said as he continued to stroke his beard thoughtfully.

Unohana and Sasakibe both nodded and Ichigo paused for a moment when he saw the Lieutenant.

'_Wait a minute.'_ He thought, wasn't that the guy that~? His eyes widened as he jumped out of bed the moment the door closed, pointing towards the door.

"What the hell?" He yelled. There was no way the guy was alive, he was there for the 'going away party' for all the people who had been killed during the Vandenreich invasion. There was no way they'd act so calmly about it either. Unless . . .

He wasn't in the fourth division at all. There was one man he knew wouldn't have any knowledge about Sasakibe's death, and the time he checked, that man was at large with the Hōgyoku in his possession. Suddenly it made sense, the interest in his family and friends, how easily he had accepted the incident as just a messed up dream, despite the fact that he _knew_ there was no way for those . . . _things_ to cause him enough damage to put him in the fourth division, or give him amnesia.

'_Aizen.'_ He thought vehemently. But worst of all, he was trapped in one of the man's illusions, an illusion that didn't even make sense. That is, unless he could trap people in limbo with his own memories of the past, which would explain the old man's and Unohana's odd appearance. They looked _younger_, which wasn't possible.

He ignored the old man as he stood up, his staff unraveling ominously, reached for Zangetsu, deep within his subconscious, and _pulled_.

**A/N:**

**I keep posting short chapters, I know, but this seemed like a great place to stop. The next chapter will be between my 6,000 word minimum and 10,000 word maximum. **

**It'll answer a lot of questions pertaining to Vandenreich, Yamamoto, and the Hogyoku. **

**Also, I try to write my characters in a 'what would they think/feel' sort of way, thus Ichigo's 'misconception'. The next chapter will take a while to come out, but it should be done in about a week. **

**Happy hunting!**


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